Europe · Country profile
Obesity in Greenland
28.1% of adults live with obesity (2024). That ranks 72nd highest of 199 countries.
28.1%
of adults live with obesity (2024)
Likely range 23.8%–32.5%
Source: WHO
12 thousand
adults with obesity (estimated number)
WHO rate × UN population
Source: WHO; UN WPP 2024
5.2%
of children & teens (5–19) live with obesity (2024)
Source: WHO
#72
highest adult obesity out of 199 countries
#1 = highest share
Source: WHO
The story of Greenland in numbers
In 2024, about 28.1% of adults in Greenland were living with obesity — about 1 in 4 adults, according to World Health Organization estimates (the likely range is 23.8% to 32.5%). That is roughly 12 thousand people aged 18 and over.
That is higher than the world average of 16.2%, and ranks 72nd highest out of 199 countries. It is above the average for WHO’s Europe region (20.9%).
Back in 1980, the figure was 11.0%. Since then it has gone up by 17.1 percentage points — about 2.6 times the 1980 level. In people, that is a change from about 3,000 to 12 thousand adults, partly because the population itself changed.
Women are more likely to live with obesity than men: 32.0% compared with 24.5%.
Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 19, 5.2% were living with obesity in 2024, compared with 1.9% in 1980 — around 1,000 young people.
For context, 6.4% of adults had diabetes in 2022. These numbers don’t prove what causes obesity, but they help paint the picture.
How it changed
Adults with obesity in Greenland: men, women and the world
What this meansSince 1980, the share of men went from 8.2% to 24.5%, and women from 14.0% to 32.0%.
- Men
- Women
- World
Show the numbers as a table
| Year | Men | Women | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 8.2% | 14.0% | 5.4% |
| 1985 | 9.4% | 15.2% | 6.0% |
| 1990 | 10.8% | 16.7% | 6.7% |
| 1995 | 12.7% | 18.6% | 7.6% |
| 2000 | 15.1% | 21.0% | 8.7% |
| 2005 | 17.8% | 23.4% | 10.1% |
| 2010 | 19.8% | 25.6% | 11.5% |
| 2015 | 21.1% | 27.8% | 13.0% |
| 2020 | 22.8% | 30.0% | 14.6% |
| 2024 | 24.5% | 32.0% | 16.2% |
Age-standardized WHO estimates. Shaded bands show the 95% uncertainty range.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Children & teens (5–19) with obesity in Greenland
What this meansSince 1980, the share of boys went from 1.8% to 4.6%, and girls from 2.0% to 5.8%.
- Boys
- Girls
BMI-for-age more than 2 standard deviations above the WHO growth reference median.
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Greenland compared (2024)
What this meansHow Greenland’s adult obesity rate compares with its region, countries at a similar income level, and the world.
- Greenland28.1%
- High income countries24.7%
- Europe (WHO region)20.9%
- World16.2%
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.
Countries ranked nearby
- 69. Peru29.2%
- 70. Ecuador28.9%
- 71. Türkiye28.8%
- 72. Greenland28.1%
- 73. Guatemala28.0%
- 73. Papua New Guinea28.0%
- 75. Ireland27.9%
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